Recovery options in Windows 10

If you’re having problems with your PC, the following table can help you decide which recovery option to use.

See this section

Your PC isn’t working well and you recently installed an update.

Your PC isn’t working well and it’s been a while since you installed an app, driver, or update.

Your PC won’t start, you haven’t created a recovery drive, and resetting your PC didn’t work.

Your PC won’t start and you haven’t created a recovery drive.

Your PC won’t start and you’ve created a recovery drive.

You want to reinstall your previous operating system.

Your PC isn’t working well and you recently installed an app.

Click one of the recovery options below and follow the steps to try to get things working again.

If you’ve recently installed a Windows update, uninstall the update to try to resolve the issue.

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View your update history > Uninstall updates.
View update history settings

Right-click the update you want to remove, and then select Uninstall.

Important: If you’ve encrypted your device, you’ll need your BitLocker key to reset your PC If you don’t know your BitLocker key, see Find my BitLocker recovery key.

Resetting reinstalls Windows 10, but lets you choose whether to keep your files or remove them, and then reinstalls Windows. You can reset your PC from Settings, the sign-in screen, or by using a recovery drive or installation media.

Reset your PC from Settings

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Recovery .
Open Recovery settings

Under Reset this PC, select Get started and then choose from the options and/or settings in the table below.

Keep my files > Change settings > Preinstalled apps On

Reinstalls Windows 10 and keeps your personal files.

Removes apps and drivers you installed.

Removes changes you made to settings.

Restores any apps your PC manufacturer installed if your PC came with Windows 10.

Keep my files > Change settings > Preinstalled apps Off

Reinstalls Windows 10 and keeps your personal files.

Removes apps and drivers you installed.

Removes changes you made to settings.

Removes any apps your PC manufacturer installed.

Reinstalls Windows 10 and removes your personal files.

Removes apps and drivers you installed.

Removes changes you made to settings.

Removes any apps your PC manufacturer installed. (If your PC came with Windows 10, apps from your PC manufacturer will be reinstalled.)

Note: Remove everything > Change settings gives you two options.

Data erasure On removes files and cleans the drive. If you’re planning to donate, recycle, or sell your PC, use this option. This might take an hour or two, but it makes it harder for other people to recover files you’ve removed.

Data erasure Off just removes files. It takes less time, but is less secure.

Reset your PC from the sign-in screen

If you can’t open Settings, you can reset your PC from the sign-in screen. Here’s how:

Press Windows logo key + L to get to the sign-in screen, and then restart your PC by pressing the Shift key while you select the Power button > Restart in the lower-right corner of the screen.

Your PC will restart in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) environment.

On the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot > Reset this PC, and then choose one of the options in the previous table.

Connect the installation media you created to your PC and reinstall Windows 10.

Open File Explorer and select the drive with the installation media.

From the root directory of the drive, double-click setup.exe, and then select Yes when asked if you’d like to allow the app to make changes to your device.

Select Change what to keep.

Select one of the following options, and then select Next:

Keep personal files and apps – This will preserve your personal data, apps, and settings.

Keep personal files only – This will preserve your personal data and settings, but all your apps will be removed.

Keep nothing – This will remove all personal data, settings, and apps.

Warning: You cannot undo a reinstallation of Windows 10. Be sure to back up your files first if you choose the Keep nothing option.

To finish, select Install to start reinstalling Windows 10 on your PC.

Your PC will restart several times during the resinstallation.

Important: If you’ve encrypted your device, you’ll need your BitLocker key to use a recovery drive to restore or reset your PC If you don’t know your BitLocker key, see Find my BitLocker recovery key.

If your PC won’t start and you haven’t created a recovery drive, download installation media and use it to restore from a system restore point or reset your PC.

Download the Windows 10 media creation tool and then run it.

Select Create installation media for another PC.

Choose a language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit).

Follow the steps to create installation media, and then select Finish.

Connect the installation media you created to your nonfunctional PC, and then turn it on.

On the initial setup screen, enter your language and other preferences, and then select Next. If you don’t see the setup screen, your PC might not be set up to boot from a drive. Check your PC manufacturer’s website for info on how to change your PC’s boot order, and then try again.

Select Repair your computer.

On the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot. From there, you can:

Restore from a system restore point by selecting Advanced options > System Restore. This will remove recently installed apps, drivers, and updates that might be causing your PC problems. Restoring from a restore point won’t affect your personal files.

Important: If you’ve encrypted your device, you’ll need your BitLocker key to use a recovery drive to restore or reset your PC If you don’t know your BitLocker key, see Find my BitLocker recovery key.

If your PC won’t start, you can use a recovery drive to restore from a system restore point or recover your PC. For info on how to create a recovery drive on a working PC, see Create a recovery drive.

Note: If you are using a Surface, see Creating and using a USB recovery drive for Surface to download and create a USB recovery image specifically for your Surface device.

To restore or recover using the recovery drive:

Connect the recovery drive and turn on your PC.

Press Windows logo key + L to get to the sign-in screen, and then restart your PC by pressing the Shift key while you select the Power button> Restart in the lower-right corner of the screen.

Your PC will restart in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) environment.

On the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot, and then select one of the following two options. (If you don’t see the Choose your option screen, your PC might not be set up to boot from a drive. Check your PC manufacturer’s website for info on how to change your PC’s boot order.)

To restore from a system restore point, select Advanced Options > System Restore. This won’t affect your personal files, but it will remove recently installed apps, drivers, and updates that might be causing your PC problems.

To reinstall Windows 10, select Advanced Options > Recover from a drive. This will remove your personal files, apps and drivers you installed, and changes you made to settings.

For a limited time after upgrading to Windows 10, you’ll be able to go back to your previous version of Windows by selecting the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Recovery and then selecting Get started under Go back to the previous version of Windows 10. This will keep your personal files, but it’ll remove apps and drivers installed after the upgrade, as well as any changes you made to settings. In most cases, you’ll have 10 days to go back.
Open Recovery settings

To go back, you’ll need to:

Keep everything in the windows.old and $windows.

bt folders after the upgrade.

Remove any user accounts you added after the upgrade.

Know the password you used to sign in to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 (if you used one).

Have the USB drive you used to upgrade to Windows 10 (if you used one).

Note: If you go back to Windows 8.1, some apps that came with Windows, like Mail and People, might not work anymore. To fix the apps, reinstall them from the Microsoft Store.

Note: The option in Settings to go back to your previous version of Windows is only available for a limited time after upgrading.

Info for Windows Insiders

If you’re an Insider and the current preview build isn’t working for you, select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Recovery . Under Go back to the previous version of Windows 10, select Get Started. This won’t remove your personal files, but it’ll remove recently installed apps and drivers, and change settings back to their defaults.

Going back to an earlier build won’t remove you from the Insider Program. When the next preview build is ready, it’ll be installed on your PC.

This option takes your PC back to an earlier point in time, called a system restore point. Restore points are generated when you install a new app or driver, and when you create a restore point manually. Restoring won’t affect your personal files, but it will remove apps, drivers, and updates installed after the restore point was made.

In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel,andthen choose it from the list of results

In the Control Panel search box, type recovery.

Select Recovery > Open System Restore.

In the Restore system files and setting box, select Next.

Select the restore point that you want to use in the list of results, and then select Scan for affected programs.

If you don’t see the restore point that you want to use, select the Show more restore points check box to see more restore points.

If you’re not seeing any restore points, it might be because system protection isn’t turned on. Here’s how to check:

In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel,andthen choose it from the list of results.

In the Control Panel search box, type recovery.

Select Recovery > Configure System Restore > Configure and see if the Turn on system protection option is selected.

If the Turn on system protection option is not selected, system protection isn’t turned on and there aren’t any restore points. In this scenario, you won’t be able to recovery your PC using a system restore point and will need to use one of the other recovery options listed on this page.

If the Turn on system protection option is selected, continue with step 6.

You’ll see a list of items that will be deleted if you remove this restore point. If you’re OK with the deletions, select Close> Next > Finish.

Go back to Windows 8.1

If you upgraded to Windows 10 recently and want to go back to Windows 8.1, here are some things you can try. This info only applies if you had Windows 8.1 on your computer before you upgraded. If your computer came with Windows 10 installed, no earlier version of Windows was ever on it. In that situation, you can’t go back to Windows 8.1. Note: The option to go back to your previous version of Windows is available only for a limited time following the upgrade (10 days, in most cases).

Select the Start button > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery. Under Go back to the previous version of Windows 10, Go back to Windows 8.1, select Get started. By following the prompts, you’ll keep your personal files but remove apps and drivers installed after the upgrade, plus any changes you made to settings.

Try restoring your PC to its factory settings. This reinstalls Windows 8.1 if it came with your PC. It also removes personal files, apps, and drivers you installed, as well as any changes you made to settings. Select the Start button > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset this PC > Get started, then select Restore factory settings.

If you have a product key for your previous version of Windows, use the media creation tool to create installation media for Windows 8.1, and then perform a clean install of Windows. If you need help finding your key, see Find your Windows product key.

If you’re past the 10-day rollback window, or if you’d prefer in any case to fix your Windows 10 installation instead of rolling back, see Reset or reinstall Windows 10.

How to uninstall Windows 10 and revert back to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1

By Matt Hanson 28 July 2016

Don’t like Windows 10?

While Windows 10 is a great operating system, it won’t be for everyone, and you may find that you don’t like the new operating system and want to revert back to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 by uninstalling Windows 10 and downgrading to your previous version of Windows.

The good news is that this downgrading process is pretty straight forward, especially if you’ve recently upgraded to Windows 10 in the past 30 days.

If it’s been longer since you upgraded, or you performed a clean install of Windows 10 (or bought a PC with Windows 10 preinstalled), then the process is slightly more complicated. In this guide we’ll look at all the ways you can downgrade from Windows 10 and revert back to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.

Did you upgrade in the past 30 days?

If it has been less than 30 days since you upgraded to Windows 10, then you can quite easily downgrade to your previous version of Windows.

To do this, open up the Start menu and select ‘Settings’, then ‘Update & security’. From there, select ‘Recovery’ and you’ll see either ‘Go back to Windows 7’ or ‘Go back to Windows 8.1’, depending on your previous operating system.

Click the ‘Get started’ button and the process will begin. You may be asked why you’re uninstalling Windows 10 and downgrading to your previous version of Windows. Once the process is complete, Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 will be back.

Has it been longer than 30 days since you upgraded to Windows 10?

If it’s been over 30 days since you installed Windows 10, then you won’t see this option to uninstall Windows 10 and downgrade it to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.

To downgrade from Windows 10 after the 30 day period you will need to perform a clean install of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.

To do this you will either need to have the installation disc that came with your PC (or when you bought Windows 7 or Windows 8.1), and the Activation code for Windows. This can usually be found on a sticker on your laptop or PC, or with the installation media.

If you can’t find the discs, then don’t worry, as Microsoft offers Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 ISO files for legal download. ISO files are disc images that can either be burned to a DVD, placed on a USB stick or run natively, as if the disc was inserted into the PC.

To download the Windows 7 ISO, go to Microsoft’s official Download Windows 7 Disc Images (ISO Files) website, enter in your Windows 7 product key, hit the Verify button and download the ISO.

If you want to downgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 8.1, then you’ll need Microsoft’s Windows 8.1 Download Tool. This website can sometimes be unresponsive if you use Chrome or Firefox, so if you have trouble, open it up in Microsoft’s Edge or Internet Explorer browsers.

Once downloaded, this tool will allow you to download Windows 8.1 and make a bootable USB stick with it on. You can then restart your PC, boot from the USB stick, and reinstall Windows 8.1.

Don’t have a Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 code?

If you’ve lost the activation code for Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, or you have bought a PC with Windows 10 preinstalled, then you will need to buy a new activation code before following the steps listed above to uninstall Windows 10 and downgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.

Check out our how to find the cheapest Windows 7 deals to bag a Windows 7 bargain, which you can then use to downgrade from Windows 10.

Once you have a Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 licence you can follow our steps above to uninstall Windows 10 and reinstall your preferred version.